


Texas Onward

by OreoLuvr13



Series: Revelations [4]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV), 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: Christopher Diaz is a National Treasure, Evan "Buck" Buckley Needs A Hug and Gets One, F/M, Family Bonding, Family Fluff, Family Reunions, Family Secrets, Grace is pregnant, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-21
Packaged: 2021-03-23 05:01:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30050304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OreoLuvr13/pseuds/OreoLuvr13
Summary: Buck along with Eddie and Christopher make their way to Austin for the much anticipated family reunion with Judd and Grace.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley & Christopher Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Evan "Buck" Buckley & Judd Ryder, Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Grace Ryder/Judd Ryder (9-1-1 Lone Star)
Series: Revelations [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2149515
Comments: 47
Kudos: 316





	1. Dinner

**Author's Note:**

> The reunion fic is finally here. I hope I don’t disappoint. Enjoy!

Wildfires. No problem. Twenty car pileup on I-35 he can handle in his sleep. Every day Judd runs into situations that most people run away from. He’s good with that. Doesn’t bat an eyelash when he faces some of the craziest and scariest shit that people can only dream of.

And at end of every shift when he takes off his unform and changes back into his civilian clothing, he leaves behind any fear, sadness, or self-doubt behind that goes along with the job at the firehouse. He can’t take the job home with him. It’s not fair to him, Grace, and in a few short months their baby.

So yes, Judd is no stranger to fear. But this, right now is something that twenty years on the job hasn’t prepared him for. This is a new fear that he’s not familiar with. His leg is bouncing a mile a minute. The waitress has already refilled his water glass once already. 6:08. How did only a minute go by since the last time he looked at his watch?

“I swear to the Lord Almighty, Judson. If you look at your watch one more time, I’m going to rip it off your wrist and throw it into that fish tank we walked by on our way in.”

“What?” Judd asks when he looks over to a smiling Grace. Man he loves her. All it took was one sentence to get him out his head. “Sorry, Grace.”

She places her hand over his. “It’s going to be fine. You both want this.”

Judd takes a deep breath. He knows Grace is right. Everything is going to be fine. He didn’t push Buck into this. Buck is the one who decided to plan the visit. Booking the flights, planning the outing to the aquarium the next day, and organizing a picnic at a nearby park with the rest if the 126 on Sunday.

It’s been about three weeks since he, and the rest of the 126, saw that damn video of Buck falling on that call that led to Judd unexpectedly revealing his familial connection to Buck to his co-workers. That day has been pretty much the bane to his existence for the last three weeks. His younger co-workers are having way too much at his expense with their nonsense. But there’s one good thing that has come from that day. With Buck being out of commission because of his busted collarbone and wrist and with Christopher having a long weekend, it created the opportunity for Buck, Eddie, and Christopher to come to Texas for a visit.

Which is why he and Grace are currently sitting at a restaurant that they have never been to before on a Friday night waiting for Buck and Eddie to arrive. Grace thought an unfamiliar place that none of them knew would put them all at an equal playing field. Yes, Judd is excited about tonight, but he’s not stupid. He knows that there are some things that he and Buck are going to have to hash out. Tough things that they haven’t yet talked about over the phone. And a restaurant where no one knows them is probably the best suitable location just in case their conversation gets heated or worse if one of them gets angry enough to storm out.

“They’ll be here any minute. Buck has already texted you saying they hit some traffic,” Grace says with a reassuring smile.

“I know that,” Judd nods as he takes another sip of water from his glass. Buck, Eddie, and Christopher flew into Austin earlier in the day, driving straight to Johnson City from the airport to visit one of Eddie’s sisters where Christopher is going to spend the night while the four adults have dinner.

“Good because here they come,” Grace says motioning with her chin to the outdoor entryway where Buck and Eddie just entered.

Judd quickly stands up, pulling Grace’s chair out, giving her his arm as she stands and the pair make their way over. At first the four of them stand there awkwardly for a few moments, no one brave enough to make the first move.

That is until Grace steps forward and motions with her arm towards Buck. “Well, I don’t think you came all this way just to stand there. Come here.” Buck doesn’t have to be told twice before he bends down and allows her to pull him as close as her five month belly and his sling will allow them. She pats him on the back as they break apart and he stretches to his full height. “You sure did inherit your height from the Ryder’s.”

“Damn right he did,” Judd jokes. The air feels a little lighter now that Grace broke through the awkwardness of the moment. He shakes hands with Eddie before turning to his nephew.

“Hey Judd,” Buck says shyly, his uninjured hand fidgeting at his side like he doesn’t know quite what to do with it before finally deciding to extend it out for a handshake.

“Hey, Buck.” Judd says stepping closer, ignoring Buck’s arm and just pulling the younger man into a firm, yet still cautious hug. He is mindful of the younger man’s broken bones, closing his eyes when he feels Buck wrap his good arm around him. It’s been twenty-nine years since he last held his nephew but those warm feelings he felt when he held his nephew for the first time come flooding back as they stand there now in the seasonably warm spring Austin air. “It’s damn good to see you, kid.”

“Good to see you too,” Buck replies as the hug ends.

“I’m just going to blame these on my hormones,” Grace says wiping her eyes. “Now why don’t we sit down and order some food.” She places her hand on her stomach. “Baby can go for some nachos.”

“Me too,” Eddie says taking a seat.

“Same here,” Judd says taking a seat after pushing Grace’s chair in.

They don’t have to wait long before the waitress returns with a pitcher of water topping off Judd’s water glass before turning to the rest of the table. “Good evening, can I get you guys anything to drink besides the water?”

“I’ll take a beer. Bottle.” Judd says. Buck and Eddie order the same.

“And how about you, miss?” The waitress turns to Grace.

“I’ll take a sweet tea, please.”

“You got it,” the waitress says.

“How much caffeine---” Buck begins to ask but his question quickly turns into a yelp.

The waitress gives Buck an odd look before continuing. “I’ll go put your drink order in and give you some time to look over the menu.”

“You okay?” Grace asks when she sees the pained look on Buck’s face.

“I’m okay,” Buck replies, shooting Eddie an annoyed look as his hand moves from the table muttering something under his breath. “You didn’t have to kick me.”

“Yes, I did.” Eddie says through clenched teeth before turning to Grace and Judd. “Have you guys been here before?”

“Never been. Our friends suggested it.” Grace says before turning her attention back to Buck. “What were you going to ask before?”

“I was going to ask you how much caffeine you had today.”

“Buck!” Eddie says shaking his head. “We talked about this.”

Grace gives Judd a questioning look. Judd shakes his head. He has no idea what his nephew and this partner are talking about.

Eddie puts his menu down. “Buck was checking in on your daily caffeine intake for today.”

“A pregnant woman should limit herself to 200 milligrams a day,” Buck adds

Grace smiles in understanding. She is no stranger to Buck’s baby check ins. “Well then we have nothing to worry about. I haven’t had any caffeine today so I’ll be fine with one glass of sweet tea.”

Buck smirks and gives Eddie a _I told you so_ look. Eddie rolls his eyes. “Don’t feed too much into his random factoid…ness. You’re only creating a monster bhumoring him.”

“Grace and Judd don’t mind when I send them articles and stuff. Do you?” Buck turns to them and when they both shake their heads he continues. “See, Eds? Did you guys get a chance to read the reviews I sent you about the best car seats?”

Judd nods. “We started to. They were very…”

“Thorough,” Grace says. “We appreciate your help.”

“Help?” Eddie repeats. “That’s one way pf describing it. You guys are kinda new to Buck’s research binges. I just didn’t want him to scare you off with his abundance of random information so soon after meeting him.”

“I get it,” Judd says.

“You do?” Buck and Eddie ask in unison as Grace turns to look at her husband.

Judd runs a hand through his hair. “Your mom…Katie used to do the same thing. Back before you were born our grandmother had to have heart surgery. Her mom and dad wouldn’t let her come down here but that didn’t stop Katie from telling Danny all about the history of the first heart shunt.”

Buck smiles as Judd finishes the story. Eddie leans over and squeezes his partner’s good shoulder. “Sounds like you. How you research things when you feel helpless. Like there’s nothing else you can do.” He turns back to Grace and Judd. “Let’s just hope that Fire Marshal Buckley doesn’t come out this weekend. He makes Wikipedia Buck look tame.”

“You were a fire marshal? When was that?” Grace asks in astonishment. How many lives has this kid had?

“Yeah, but it was short lived.”

“Thank God for small favors. Fire Marshal Buckley could be a little much. Chimney said Maddie was pretty annoyed with the whole child proofing fiasco,” Eddie says with a smile. “You put a child proof lock on a cabinet that was five feet off the ground.”

Grace lets out a laugh. Her smiling stops when she sees the look on Judd’s face when he hears Maddie’s name. She shakes her head as a warning. They talked about this before. Ease in to the hard stuff.

_“I know you have issues with Maddie. But she is basically the only family Buck has been able to consistently count on since he was a kid. You attack her. He’s going to get defensive.”_

“What?” Buck asks. Frowning when he sees the look on his uncle’s face. “Something wrong?”

“Judd, stop.” Grace warns.

But Judd ignores her. “Look, I know you and Maddie are close. I get that. I’m happy that you had her growing up. But she’s not exactly my favorite person. She knew what her parents was doing was wrong. Not letting us have any contact with you. But then she did the exact same thing. We get pictures for six years and then all of a sudden nothing. No pictures. No letters. Nothing. Not to mention, she hid the truth from you your whole life. Only telling you the truth after what? Growing a conscience for her role in this mess after getting pregnant herself?”

Judd leans back in his chair as silence fills the air. He looks away from Grace’s imploring eyes.

“You said the pictures stopped when I was six?” Buck asks sadly. “That’s when Maddie went away to college. When she met Doug.”

Defensive. Angry. Judd was expected that sort of reaction from Buck when he said what he did about Maddie. But not this. The kid looks wrecked. Buck looks like someone just kicked his puppy.

Judd and Grace look at each other. Neither one have had heard Buck ever mention the name Doug until now. Nor has Grace ever mentioned a Doug when going through Buck’s Instagram. They thought Maddie was with one of Buck’s co-workers.

“Doug was Maddie’s husband. Very abusive husband,” Buck corrects. “It was bad. I didn’t hear from her for three years until one day she just showed up in LA. Didn’t see her twice that long. That’s why she stopped sending you pictures.”

And shit. Judd feels like an asshole. His issue with Maddie is nothing compared to what she has had to deal with. Grace puts her hand over her mouth. As a 9-1-1 dispatcher she has had a front row seat to way too domestic violence calls. These are the calls that she often brings home with her.

“Sorry, kid.” Judd apologizes sincerely. “I had no idea.”

“Yeah, neither did I.” Buck says quietly, biting his bottom lip.

“Hey,” Eddie says. “The most important thing is that Maddie got away from Doug. She’s happy with Chimney and their little girl. Yes, she didn’t tell the truth for years. But the most important thing is she did and now because of it we’re all here together now.”

“That’s right. We can’t redo the past. The only thing we can do is move forward and that’s what we’re doing,” Grace says.

The table falls into another short bout of awkward silence when Grace says, “So, is Christopher excited about going to the aquarium tomorrow?”

Eddie looks grateful as the change in subject. “Oh yeah.” He points to Buck. “Although I don’t know who is more excited. Christopher or this one.”

“You can feel octopuses, lemurs, or the kinkajous,” Buck says excitedly. “Sloths too.”

Judd smiles at his nephew’s excitement. True, normally the aquarium would be one of the last places that you would find Judd spending his weekend. His normal weekend plans usually consist of catching a game while drinking a couple of beers or maybe head to his uncle’s ranch. But he couldn’t say no when Buck called him all excited asking if he and Grace have ever been to the Austin Aquarium.

_“Have you and Grace ever been to the aquarium? You can feed a kinkajou. Hey, did you the kinkajou is also known as the ‘honey bear.’”_

And now Judd is actually looking forward to it. Over the last couple of months Buck hasn’t shown much interest in talking to Danny, his father, or any of his brothers for that matter, much to everyone’s chagrin, but he does seem okay with making Grace and Judd an integral part of their family’s trip to Austin. It means the world to him that Buck and Eddie asked him and Grace to tag along on a family outing with their kid. Giving them a chance to meet Eddie’s son. Christopher maybe Eddie’s son but he is clearly an important part of his nephew’s life as well. Judd knows as much from the stories Buck tells of the little boy and the pictures that are all over Buck’s Instagram.

“Looking forward to it,” Grace says as If reading her husband’s mind. “Do we have an itinerary?”

“Of course,” Buck says. He turns to Eddie. “I’m a little disappointed that we’re not doing the sleeping with the sharks thing though.”

Eddie holds up his hands. Judd gets the feeling that this not the first time they have had this conversation. “This weekend is already a little packed. I don’t even know how we’re going to get Christopher to go to school on Tuesday. Let’s save something for next time we come out here.”

“Fine next time,” Buck concedes quickly. “Maybe next time we can also do Inner Space Cavern.”

Judd can’t help but feel a little excited when he hears Buck talk about their next visit. Yes, he put his foot in his mouth about Maddie but it doesn’t look like he scared Buck away.

“Sorry about the wait,” the waitress says setting the drinks on the table. “Do you need a few more minutes before you order?”

“Yes, please.” Grace says and the waitress leaves again.

Judd looks around the table and thinks about how far they’ve come in such a short amount of time. In less than a year Buck and Eddie went from being strangers to being family. Buck went from “this dumbass a work tried to steal a firetruck” to “my dumbass nephew broke his damn collarbone.” Tomorrow he and Grace are going to get to meet the little boy that holds his nephew’s heart as if he was his own son. A year ago he avoided the parenthood question at all costs and now he can’t wait to hold their own baby in a few short months. He holds up his bottle. “Time for a toast.” He waits for the others to hold up their own drinks before he continues. “The journey here was not easy. The ones that means the most often aren’t, but the most important thing is that we’re here now. And where there is family, there is love. To family!”


	2. Aquarium

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s a day of fun at the aquarium for Grace and the boys. Grace gives a little insight into the Ryder family’s rationale over the years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for all the love! You guys are the best!

“You excited?” Grace asks as she turns to her husband as they drive towards the aquarium.

He gives her a crooked smile. “Maybe.”

“Maybe my butt. You were up before me this morning.” She returns his smile. ”And Tommy said the other day at the firehouse you were bragging about us meeting Christopher before everyone else.”

Judd shrugs. “I just mentioned that we were meeting up with Buck, Eddie, and Christopher at the aquarium. That’s all.”

“That’s all you said?” Grace says with a smirk. “No gloating?”

Judd rubs his chin when he thinks about the look on TK, Marjan, and Carlos’ faces when he told them of their plans.

_“That’s not fair!”_

_“Yeah, you get to see Christopher Saturday and Sunday.”_

“Maybe there was a little.”

Grace shakes her head at her husband’s antics. “You’re so bad, Judson.”

Judd takes Grace’s hand and kisses her knuckles. “That’s why you love me.”

“Maybe. That and I do love a man in uniform.”

Just as they turn into the aquarium parking lot, Judd’s phone goes off. Grace takes it out of the center counsel.

“That Buck? They’re here?” Judd asks as he pulls into a parking space.

Grace looks at the message. “It’s Danny.”

Judd frowns. Danny knows Buck is talking to Judd and Grace. Judd never hid that from him. His brother has been calling twice a month pretty consistently over the last nine months. It’s the most consistent contact any of his brothers has had with Danny since he left Texas over twenty years ago. Still whenever he calls Judd can hear the sadness in his brother’s voice. The wistfulness that Buck will reach out to him too. At least Danny seems okay with the little anecdotes that Judd shares with him about his son. He also knows that Buck, Eddie, and Christopher are visiting this weekend. “What does it say?”

“To have fun and that he can’t wait to hear all about it the next time he calls you,” Grace says with a sad smile. His phone dings with another text notification. “That’s Buck They’re parked up ahead in a handicapped spot.”

“Let’s go,” Judd says after parking the truck and heading towards the front of the parking lot to where the handicapped parking is. It doesn’t take long for them to find Buck, Eddie, and who he assumes to be Christopher standing beside their rental car.

“Hey guys!” Buck greets as they get closer. He ruffles the boy’s curly hair before turning to Judd and Grace. “This is Christopher. Christopher, this is Judd and Grace.”

Christopher gives them a toothy grin. “N-nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too, kid.” Judd says with a smile.

“Hi, Christopher.” Grace adds with a wave.

Christopher looks to Buck and Eddie as if silently asking them something. Eddie gives him a gentle nudge. “Go ahead, ask.”

“Can I-I hug you?” Christopher asks shyly, head tilted to the side.

And with that four word sentence Judd knows that Evie and Isabella are going to have some stiff competition when it comes to being Grace’s favorite kid.

“We hug in our family,” Buck explains. “A lot actually.”

“And since you’re Buck’s family, you’re our family too.” Christopher adds.

He doesn’t have to look at his wife to know that she already has tears in her eyes.

“Well, come here then. What are you waiting for?” Grace says holding her arms out. Christopher falls into her arms easily before moving on to Judd. Judd looks down at Christopher’s curls thinking of the pictures of Buck when he was younger. He gives the boy another squeeze before letting go. He knows not to take these hugs for granted. You never know when it may be the last one. He quickly shakes the thought from his head. This isn’t one of those times. This is the first of many.

“You guys ready?” Buck says excitedly. “We got a light to see. The kinkajous are waiting for us.”

Eddie lets out a tired sigh as they start to make their way towards the aquarium. “I hope you two rested up. Buck and Chris have an itinerary.”

“It’s numbered in order of importance,” Buck says with a smile while holding up his phone, Christopher nods enthusiastically.

Judd can’t help but smile at their enthusiasm. He takes Grace’s hand in his and follows along. “We’re ready.”

**XXXXX**

They are steadily making their way through the aquarium when Grace begins to get tired. She knows kids have a ridiculous amount of energy. She can’t tell you how many times she comes home ready for a nap after watching Evie and Isabella for a couple of hours. So she was prepared for today. Making sure that she got nine hours of asleep.

But no preparation was enough to ready herself for Christopher _and_ Buck. The two of them were like little balls of excited knowledge that pings off each other. She knows that Buck is a walking talking Wikipedia. His knowledge of random information is crazy. Buck has sent her and Judd countless articles about everything and anything in the six months. And Christopher just adds to it. Asks the right question or says something that prompts Buck enough to spur Buck off on another binge of information as they move from one exhibit to another.

Grace spots a bench and whispers to Judd “I’m just going to sit for a few.”

“You okay?” Judd asks. “You need me to get you some water?”

Grace shakes her head as she sits on the bench. “I’ll be okay. Just give me a few minutes.”

“Come on, Judd!” Chris says already pulling Buck away and towards the sharks. “Let’s go see the sharks.”

“Go ahead,” Grace reassures her husband with a smile. She spots Christopher and Buck looking at them. “Go on, they’re waiting for you.”

“I’ll can sit for a few,” Eddie says sitting next to Grace.

“You sure?” Judd asks.

“Go on!” Grace says with a wave of her hand. Judd turns around and joins his nephew and Christopher at the shark tank. She turns to Eddie. “You didn’t have to stay. I’m fine by myself.”

He smiles. “Maybe you’re not the only one who can use a breather.”

Grace laughs. “Right?! How do they have that much energy?”

Eddie shakes his head. “I have no idea. I thought the time change would throw them off a bit. I guess I was wrong.”

“He’s really good with him,” Grace says as Buck bends down and whispers something in Christopher’s ear making the boy laugh.

Eddie nods. “He is. He’s a natural with kids. Probably because he’s still one himself.”

“Could be,” Grace says. The boys’ backs are towards them so she can’t see their faces but she sees Buck has a protective arm across the back of Christopher as the boy stands between Buck and Judd. She can see by her husband’s loose shoulders how relaxed Judd is as he listens to what she can assume is Buck going on about the tank’s occupants.

“Honestly, I’m surprised that he’s like this. I mean especially with who his...how Margaret and Phillip are like. Loving and caring are not how I would exactly describe the two of them,” Eddie says breaking though the silence.

“I heard that too,” Grace says. She sees that Eddie is biting his lip nervously. Like he wants to ask her something but is afraid to. To help ease his nerves she gives him a smile. “Something on your mind?”

“No…Yes.” Eddie says running a hand through his hair. She doesn’t say anything as Eddie weighs his options before finally deciding to go ahead. “Do you mind if I ask you something? You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, but something’s been on my mind ever since Buck found out about Katie and Danny being his parents.”

Grace watches as Judd looks intently at the shark tank, his head tilted down toward the boy as if Christopher is talking. “Go ahead and ask. Of course you have questions. I would be surprised if you didn’t.”

“I know the Buckley’s cut Danny and his family off after Katie died. Maddie said her parents were a mess after the accident. Packed up her room. Moved to a new town and never mentioned her again. Cut Danny and everyone from the family off from him. What I don’t get is why Danny or your father-in-law did nothing about it. Didn’t fight the Buckley’s to be a part of Evan’s life.”

Eddie takes a deep breath. Grace is ready to say something but knows that Eddie is not done yet. He looks straight ahead. His eyes are on the back of his son’s head as he continues. “I screwed up with Christopher. After he was diagnosed with CP I ran away. I was overseas when I should have been here being his dad. It’s been years but I’m still trying to make up for that time. Now I know that Katie’s death was tragic and sudden and Danny was still in high school. But what about later. Why after all those years didn’t Danny or anyone else even attempt to contact Evan.”

Grace doesn’t respond right away. She understands where Eddie is coming from. He only said what she has thought and voiced to Judd so many times over the years. She understands and respects her in-law’s initial thoughts of respecting the Buckley’s loss after Katie’s death, but she still doesn’t quite understand their reluctance to make contact with Evan or the Buckley’s when the pain of Katie’s death wasn’t so raw and new.

“The first time I met Danny was when he was in between moving from the Maldives to Belize and came back to Texas for a couple of days.”

Eddie looks at her with a quirked eyebrow. Clearly not understanding where she is going with the story. “Starting telling me about the sea life of the Maldives and the coral reefs. Now, I’ve been warned about the Danny Effect,” Grace says with a smile. “How he sucks you in and then boom. You’re lending him $50. Or covering for him when he misses curfew for the third night in a row. I shrugged it off when I was warned. There’s no way I would ever fall for that. But his enthusiasm was so damn contagious and the next thing I know I’m going into the house to get him a drink when I wasn’t even thirsty myself. He was just that good. Those damn puppy eyes only made it worse. I fell victim to the Danny effect. Hook, line, and sinker.”

They watch as Christopher’s head leans back in laughter at something Buck just said, while Judd shakes his head. “I’m sure you’re no stranger to that.”

Eddie smiles. “No, I’m not.”

“Danny’s birthday is in January. He hadn’t seen Evan and Katie since he went up there for Thanksgiving. No one knows exactly what he said, but Katie packed up Evan after school on a Thursday afternoon, took her mother’s car, and headed to Pittsburg to catch a flight,” Grace takes a deep breath before continuing. “What was supposed to be a dusting turned into a half a foot of snow. Katie lost control of her car on Interstate 76 about fitty miles from the airport. No one knows how long they there, but by the time help arrived Katie was gone. Evan was in the back seat without a scratch on him but was in the beginning stages of hypothermia.”

“Dios mio,” Eddie whispers.

“Katie’s parents blamed Danny. Said that if it wasn’t for him, Katie would still be alive. That if he didn’t get into Katie’s head the two of them wouldn’t have been on that highway. That he almost killed Evan too. They wouldn’t even let him go to the funeral.”

“Jesus,” Eddie whispers. “They really are unbelievable.”

Grace nods in agreement. She’s an understanding person but she doesn’t know if she could ever get why the Buckley’s did what they did. Freeze out her husband’s family the way they did. To devoid Evan of experiencing the love of his father’s family. “Danny believed them. Heck, I think he still does. That’s why he stayed away. Still is.”

“Like I told Evan in that first DM I sent him, I don’t know why Danny and the rest of the family did what they did. But I can tell you what I know and what I think. I know that they love him. So much so that Judd had to fight his father and brothers tooth and nail not to make an appearance this weekend.”

Since Judd told his father and brothers about Buck and the Diazes planned visit two weeks ago there’s been a constant stream of texts and phone calls. There’s been a lot of yelling and hang ups that finally ended with Judd threatening that he’s not going to relay any more information about Buck if they even think about dropping in this weekend. So they have reluctantly agreed to standby, at least for the time being.

“I think at first my father-in-law stayed away to respect the Buckley’s wishes. Their loss. They already lost a daughter. Maybe he thought fighting for Evan was not right because Katie’s parents already lost so much. That it was the right thing to give them time to deal with their grief in the days after Katie died. Then the days turned into weeks. Weeks into months. Months into years. I don’t know for sure if that’s why, but that’s what my heart tells me. I don’t know if you noticed but the Ryder men are not the best with talking about how they feel.”

Eddie lets out a snort. “Yeah, I noticed.”

“You too, huh?” Grace says with a smile, nudging Eddie’s shoulder playfully.

Eddie turns to Grace with heartfelt eyes. “Thanks for telling me all that. I knew Katie died in an accident but nothing else. I wanted to know more but he’s not ready to ask those questions yet. I…just want to be prepared for when he does.”

Grace nods as she looks at her nephew’s partner. Sees the look on his face as he watches Buck with Christopher. It’s filled with love and devotion. She’s happy that Evan has found someone to look at him that way. The way she and Judd look at each other. Everyone should have that. “I get it.”

He smiles at her before turning back to the shark tank. “I’m sure you do out of---“ Eddie suddenly stops when he sees Buck lift Christopher up with his good arm. He suddenly stands up. “Dios mio! I’m gonna kill him! I told him not to pick Christopher up.”

Grace touches his arm with her own. “Just hold on.”

“What?” Eddie asks looking at her in confusion.

“Look,” Grace says tilting her head towards the boys. Sure enough they see Judd lightly slap Buck on the back of the head. Even though they’re on the other side of the room they can still make out Judd saying something along the lines of _‘What the hell is wrong with you?_ _Put him down!”_

“Hey! Why did you do that?” Buck asks straightening his hair as he places Christopher back on the ground.

“Do three broken ribs and a busted collarbone ring a bell?” Judd replies.

“He does it all the time,” Christopher says. “And piggy back rides too.”

“Oh he does, huh? Hollywood must love that.”

“Dad doesn’t know.”

Buck smiles nervously. “You’re not helping, buddy.” He points to an informational plaque about the sharks who are in the tank. “Look it says here one of the shark’s name is Clearance.”

“Clearance.” Christopher repeats. “I think Seamus is a better name for a shark.”

“Seamus the shark?” Judd asks. “When I think of sharks I think of a name like Jaws or Chomp. Seamus sounds kinda weak.”

“We were going to name our alpaca Horace,” Christopher says, glasses askew.

Judd can’t help but shake his head. These two are too much. “ I don’t know where to start with that. First, that you were going to get a pet alpaca. Second, you were going to name him Horace?”

Christopher holds up two fingers nearly touching. “We were this close. Then Dad walked in and took the Ipad before we could finish.”

Judd smiles. “Ahhhh, Hollywood said no.”

“And I got in trouble,” Christopher says looking down.

“You went to Buck after Eddie said no?”

“Yeah and...”

“And what?” Judd asks. There’s definitely more to this story from the way Christopher is looking at Buck.

“Well, Chris here has a tendency to ask me for things that Eddie says no to after I’m two painkillers in,” Buck says sheepishly.

Damn the kid is good. He looks all innocent with the glasses and curls. Looks can definitely be deceiving. Eddie and Buck are going to be in trouble when the kid gets to be a teenager. Especially if any of the Ryder rebellion wears off on him.

Judd feels a tug on the bottom of his shirt. He looks down to see Christopher motioning for him to bend down, so he does. Christopher whispers “That’s how I got a Hildy Mini.”

Judd lets out a loud laugh. Yep, Eddie and his nephew are going to be in a lot of trouble.

“Hey what are you two talking about?” Buck asks.

“Nothing,” the two say in unison as Judd stands up.

“Are you and Grace having a boy or girl?” Christopher asks slyly changing topics.

“We don’t know yet. We’re going to let it be a surprise,” Judd says.

Finding out the sex has been a touchy subject. He wants to know, but Grace is adamant that they should wait to find out. So they’re waiting.

“Well you know Evan can be a boy or a girl’s name,” Buck suggests with bright eyes. Damn it’s like it’s twenty years ago and he’s in the kitchen of his childhood home and Danny is standing there asking their mother to make chicken and dumplings for dinner instead of ribs for dinner. And of course they would end up having chicken and dumplings that night.

“But you don’t even go by Evan,” Chris says, eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

“I love this kid,” Judd says with a smile sharing a fist bump with the kid.

“Where’s Grace?” Buck asks looking around. “I need someone else on my side.”

“Oh no,” Grace says as Buck’s puppy blue eyes makes contact with hers. “I’m afraid to know what they’re up to.”

Eddie stands up and offers her a hand. “Yeah, we better get over there before I end up adopting a lemur.”

“Or Buck convinces Judd to name our unborn child Theodora. Have you seen the names he’s been texting us.”

Eddie and Grace walk over to Christopher, Buck, and Judd. “Oh I know. I’ve seen the texts. Be glad you get the revised list.”

“Revised list?” Grace asks. She’s afraid what’s on the lists she doesn’t get. She smiles when she and Eddie reaches the shark tank. “What are you guys up to?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who don’t recognize him Horace the Alpaca is a reference to my story “Reinforcements.”

**Author's Note:**

> One thing I saw in several reviews was whether I was going to address Judd’s feelings towards Maddie for cutting off contact so suddenly all those years ago, so I wanted to add that little bit in. I didn’t want to make it a huge part of the story but I also wanted Judd to know the truth. We’re also going to get to see a little more insight into the Ryder rationale for why they didn’t fight the Buckley’s to be a part of Buck’s life.


End file.
